SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Commentary: MISS
The four-man booth was ambitious to begin with, and I don’t think it worked. I barely remember anything Mark Henry said, and I don’t even remember hearing his voice after the opening match. Chris Jericho brings good energy to the announcing, but as a top babyface in the company he doesn’t sufficiently chastise heelish actions by heels who he is not feuding with, and I think that does more harm than good. He also just completely drowns out the other announcers.
When I could hear him, I felt Mark Henry’s speaking cadence is a bit slow for the pace these announcers need to have, especially when running down a card. However, he doesn’t stand a chance to improve if Jericho is going to be on every week,
Christian Cage vs. Kenny Omega for the Impact Heavyweight Championship: HIT
I was and still am skeptical about opening a new AEW show with a championship defense of another company’s title. That being said, this was a very good match, made better by a hot crowd. Christian Cage looks excellent for his age and looked like he belonged there with Omega. Putting him over gives greater significance to their match at All Out, but I personally wouldn’t have booked him to lose a non-AEW belt first.
In addition, AEW ought to explain to their viewers why there are two Impact belts?
Christian Cage’s Post-Match Backstage Interview: HIT
Christian Cage’s promo itself was pretty standard, but Orange Cassidy standing in the background and watching made this segment cooler. Seems like when he loses to Omega at All Out, Cage already has an opponent lined up for his Impact title.
I do wonder how Impact Wrestling fans feel about their belt seemingly being contested only among AEW wrestlers right now, especially with the potential involvement of Orange Cassidy later.
Video Package on Miro vs. Fuego Del Sol: HIT
While I do find the build to a match with this stipulation a little weak, I’m glad they at least aired a video package to promote this match, and AEW needs to keep doing more of these.
Miro vs. Fuego Del Sol for the TNT Championship – If Fuego wins, he gets an AEW contract: HIT
In a vacuum, this match told a great story within two minutes. Miro’s selling is very compelling. He is so good in his character right now that when he sells it feels sweet to watch, no matter who his opponent is. However, when he won, I didn’t really feel too bad for Fuego Del Sol’s AEW contract dreams. The story hasn’t been told effectively enough on television for me to care about the stipulation. More on this below.
Sammy Guevara announces that Fuego Del Sol is All-Elite: HIT
I am very happy for Fuego Del Sol and wish him all the best in his career on Dynamite. His offense and selling looked great in the match and I have no doubt that AEW has made an excellent hire. I have to give this segment a “hit” overall as I think it was good for what it was.
However, there are a few issues worth addressing: First, on Dynamite this week, they hyped that Sammy had an “announcement” to make on Rampage. So, what would his announcement have been if Del Sol had won the match vs. Miro? Secondly, why is Tony Khan booking a match with a stipulation, only to later back-track on the same stipulation? Isn’t this company supposed to respect its match stipulations?
Lastly, this whole segment could have meant so much more with a better build-up. An AEW contract should mean a lot more. A 30-second video package with shared airtime between the wrestlers isn’t going to do enough to get me to care about one of them getting an AEW contract, especially when I have no idea who that wrestler is. Perhaps it would have been better if, for example, each week on Dynamite we got a brief recap of Dark, with a spotlight on “talents to watch out for.” Maybe even lean into his friendship with Sammy Guevara and have Sammy in the audience, supporting his friend during some of his matches (and show that on Dynamite). Something like that showcased within Dark highlights on Dynamite over the course of multiple weeks would have me more invested in Del Sol getting a contract.
Britt Baker and Red Velvet Pre-Match Joint Interview: HIT
For a television main event, the build to this is pretty straight-forward. They are not trying to over-engineer the animosity between these two, so it’s fine.
Britt Baker vs. Red Velvet for the AEW Women’s World Championship: HIT
A very well-worked match that, like the opener, was buoyed by the crowd. Red Velvet has improved a great deal, and I’m happy that Britt won clean. I hope they ride the crowd’s momentum and turn her babyface (although the post-match suggests otherwise). Very good to see the women main event this debut episode of Rampage.
Post-Match beatdown + Jamie Hayter Return: MISS
Leave it to AEW to pack a little too much into the last couple of minutes of a TV show. Returns and debuts in general need more time to breathe. This company can and should do better in this regard.
Overall show: HIT
Despite some nit-picks, this was an excellent debut episode of Rampage. Most elements of the show worked, and I also liked having current AEW roster members in the audience. However, if you were looking for a show that is tangibly different from Dynamite, you will be disappointed. This is largely just an extension of Dynamite with a different announce team and Mark Henry handling backstage interviews.
Overall, a very easy watch, and a fun way to spend a Friday night. Can’t wait for next week.
FOR OUR FULL DETAILED SHOW REPORT, CLICK HERE: 8/13 AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT: Debut episode including Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage for Impact Title, Baker vs. Velvet for Women’s Title
Sammy’s announcement is due on next week’s Dynamite, not this show.